INDIA.

Grey River Argus, Issue 128, 6 November 1866, Page 3

INDIA.

(From the Melbourne Anjun correspondent.) Bombay, Sept. 14. The trade of Bombay, I am sorry to say, continues without improvement, and the commercial public are looking forward to the redrafts from England with something like foreboding, Several failures have taken place among the native merchants since my last, and some of them were for heavy amounts ; but the heaviest of them all has been the Premchund Koychund, the millionnaire of Bombay. The life of this person during the last few years has been very singular. Three or four years ago he was an ordinary broker, and, according to all accounts, but very poorly blessed with this world's goods. When the share mania broke out in this Presidency, he played his cards well, and soon became a man of mark. He was elected one of the directors of the Bank of Bombay, and in that capacity exerted great influence on the monetary affairs of the city. Soon his. extensive and daring speculations put him at the very top of the tree, and every speculation in which he was known to be concerned had a demand upon it for shares. Indeed, he ruled the market, and pulled the wires as he pleased. He was kotowed to and worshipped on every side ; and even the Governor of Bombay once praised him in public for some act of ostentatious almsgiving. Perhaps all tliis was " the right thing," for Premchund was known to be worth between five and six millions of pounds sterling, and reputed to be worth three or four millions more. "What wonder, therefore, that the people bowed down to great millionnaire. But the crash of last year came ; everybody who had traded in shares became bankrupt, except Premchund, and he was found to have escaped unscathed. Of course, he foresaw the impending crash, and sold out in time ; but those who had none of his financial ability, cursed him with all their might, and said all sorts of slanderous, things about him. But what did he care ? He had got an immense forhine secure, and could afford to hi ugh at his accusers. Most reasonable men would have been content to retire from business for ever with the large fortune that Premchund retained. But no. He entered into fresh cotton speculations on a most extensive scale ; sent agents to buy up the growths of whole districts, in the belief that the American -war would last for years ; but when peace was proclaimed, down went cotton, and down it has remained ever since. Of course, heavy losses have been incurred on the shipments to England, and chiefly from this i reason, the great Hindoo millionna're has ' become a ruined man. The famine which broke out in Orissa, one of the largest districts of Bengal, continues to increase in extent- and intensity as the weeks roll on. The accounts are more harrowing than ever, and famine, and disease, and death have held such a hideous -carnival as lias n^t been known in India since 1770. The worst of it is, that as long as ten months ago ample notice was given that in the three principal districts of Orissa — Balasore, Cuttack, and Pooree-rthe deficiency of the crops was so great that \inless some measures of relief were taken, all the consequences of a famine must fall upon the inhabitants. But the Government of Bengal pooh-phooded the idea, and the Board of Revenue, which acts as the Government's executive, followed in the same strain. In the meantime, however, the distress increased, and it wa3 not until it had assumed a most serious aspect that stolid officialism condescended to notice its existence. And even then it < went to work in such an intelligent manner that it had much better have left it alone. The Government furnished supplies of rice and other grain, but refused to sell lower than the market rates, on the plea that to do so would interfere with the established principles of free trade. Finding the paternal Government was only a shopkeeper after all, the poor peasantry s eld what little property they had, and spent the proceeds in rice But this could not last long, so when their property was all disposed 6i, some went to other parts of the country, with the faint hope of finding subsistence somewhere ; others went to Calcutta, in the hope of getting food and shelter there ; .and others lay down by the roadside and died. Between 30,000 and 40,000 are now in Calcutta, getting such support as the people there can give,, and there is every probability that this number will increase. In addition to this, the famine is extended from the mouth of the Ganges all along the shores of the Bay of Bengal, to Madras ; and in some districts the monsoon rains have caused the rivers to overflow their banks, so that the young rice crops have been destroyed. Added to tliis calamity, we have to record the fact tha,t a' storm has occurred in the Bay of Bengal, and that vessels bound to False Point, with rice for the interior of Orissa, have been obliged to throw much of it overboard, aitd even the small quantity that was landed was so damaged as to be useless W food. These marine disasters might have been proA r ented had the Board of

Revenue sent rice in April or May, as it is impossible to land cargo on those shores at this season of the year. But now that the country has taken up the subject, and large subscriptions have been raised, it is hoped that, with the step 3 which are yet to. bp taken, tlig ravages of famine may be lessened ; but there is no doubt that had the Government done its duty in time, this awful calamity would have been robbed of half its horrors.. In the Madras Presidency a famine likewise prevails ; but Lord Napier, the Governor, has acted with such energy and inielligeuce that all manner of remedial measures, have been adopted, and the results will be by no means disastrous,